Date: Fri 19-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Mittleman-AIDS-bicycle-ride

Full Text:

w/photo: Local Couple Sees AIDS Ride As A Path To Possibility

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

The challenge of riding bikes 300 miles from Boston to New York appeals to

fitness enthusiasts Craig and Kelly Mittleman. The opportunity to do it in

memory of Kelly's brother, who died from AIDS in 1992, makes it an especially

meaningful challenge.

The Mittlemans, who live on Huntingtown Road, intend to participate in the

Boston-New York AIDS Ride 2 in September. But to qualify, each must collect

$1,500 in donations for AIDS-related services before August 1.

"This isn't a race, it's a ride," Kelly Mittleman explained. "It's limited to

3,600 participants, people who are serious about it. Raising the money and

participating in the ride are challenges, but they don't approach the

challenges that are faced every day by persons with AIDS."

An emergency room physician at Norwalk Hospital, Dr Craig Mittleman said he

has dealt with a lot of patients who have AIDS or are HIV-positive, "but it

really changed my perspective after losing a brother-in-law."

Kelly's brother, Michael Spratlin, a talented Celtic harpist, died four and a

half years ago at the age of 32, only nine months after he was diagnosed with

AIDS. More than 300,000 Americans have died from AIDS in the United States in

the past 15 years and another 750,000 are HIV-positive.

"AIDS covers the spectrum - it's not just gay men or intravenous drug users,"

Dr Mittleman, 33, said. "In reality it is all around us. Everyone who dies

from AIDS is a brother, sister, mother, father or child of someone."

"The incidence of AIDS is decreasing among the gay population and increasing

in the hetrosexual population," he said. "It's still an ethnically and morally

sensitive issue for many people, but I've had a good response to the 100

letters I've sent asking for donations."

Sponsored by Tanqueray, with help from the Banana Republic, POZ magazine and

US Air/USAir Shuttle, the Boston-New York AIDS Ride 2 is expected to raise

nearly $6 million for the AIDS-related health services of the Community Health

Project and the Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center in New York City. Last

year's event raised $3 million.

"The donations will be used for free medical care and counseling, peer

counseling, health outreach to teens, assessment and intervention programs -

for social support and services, not just research," Kelly Mittleman said.

"It's a completely voluntary organization so all of the money will go for

service, not for salaries or promotion."

Although already in good shape, the Mittlemans will spend the next two months

biking about 1,500 miles to prepare for the Boston-New York trip. When they

leave Boston on September 5, they anticipate being on their bikes eight to ten

hours a day until they arrive in New York City on September 8.

Each night will be spent in pup tents in tent cities set up for the event: the

first night on the UConn campus in Storrs, the second at Black Rock State Park

and the third at FDR State Park in Yorktown Heights in Westchester County. The

riders' sleeping bags and other gear will be transported by truck; rest stops

will be set up every 15 miles.

"The ride will combine the physical need for us to be challenged with this

profoundly personal part of our lives," said Kelly, 32, who plans to carry a

photo of her brother on the trip.

If it rains, they will be going anyway, in ponchos.

"We were sent a very inspiring, emotional video of last year's event - which

was held in the rain," she said. "There are a lot of people who are sick (with

AIDS) riding in this - I should be able to do as much."

This new concept in AIDS fundraising was launched on May 1, 1994 when 478

cyclists left San Francisco for a 525-mile, seven-day journey to Los Angeles.

They hoped to raise $1 million but wound up with nearly $1.6 million. This

year rides also will be held in Florida, California, and from Philadelphia to

Washington, DC, and from Minneapolis to Chicago, with a total goal of $30

million.

"The AIDS rides are about possibility," Kelly Mittleman said. "We don't know

that we can't end AIDS, and we don't know that we can't do it in a very short

period of time. Current newspaper articles report that significant inroads are

being made - they describe it as a medical watershed. If not a cure, then a

way to arrest the disease may be at hand."

The Mittlemans said they have heard that 72 people from Connecticut intend to

participate in the Boston-New York ride but they aren't aware of anyone else

from Newtown.

"Our philosophy is that those who support us (with donations) are with us on

the ride," Dr Mittleman said. "It is a way for them to express their feelings

for the cause."

"We will make it known if Newtown supports us," he promised. "It's like the

phrase `Think globally, act locally.'"

Other phrases - "AIDS does not procrastinate, neither should you" and "One

person should make a difference, every person should try" (John F. Kennedy);

and "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take" also inspire the

couple.

The riders' motto "Will of iron, legs of steel, heart of gold" is especially

memorable, Kelly Mittleman said.

"I'm sure I'll be thinking about this on mile 15 of each days' run," she said.

Donations for the battle against AIDS should be made out to: Boston-New York

AIDS Ride 2 and sent c/o the Mittlemans, 40 Huntingtown Road, Newtown 06470.

For more information, call the Mittlemans at 270-9851.